No. 8 Penn State men’s lacrosse (10-16, 5-2 Big Ten) fell to No. 1 Princeton (15-2, 7-1 Ivy League) 14-10.

The offense struggled to get open looks closer to the cage, with most goals unassisted. The Nittany Lions finished with just 27 shots, 18 of which were on net. The defense played well, given that Princeton went 19-8 on face-offs. The Tigers had 49 shots, which became too much for Penn State to defend as the heat picked up in the second half.

How It Happened

Princeton jumped on the opening face-off, but Preston Hawkins made a save on the Tigers’ first shot. Alex Ross immediately scored a transition goal, putting Penn State on the board.

The Tigers won the next face-off, but a stick check from Will Costin gave the Nittany Lions possession again. Kyle Lehman cut to the middle of the field and ripped the ball into the side of the net. Penn State took an early 2-0 lead.

Princeton won its third straight face-off after the Lehman goal, but hit the post and the crossbar twice. Finally, after a Nittany Lion shot clock violation, the Tigers stormed downfield and scored their first goal on a tight-angle bounce shot.

With Princeton winning every faceoff in the first quarter, Penn State struggled to find strong shot opportunities, only creating three attempts on the previous two drives.

The first quarter ended at 2-1, with Hawkins’ six saves the story of the game thus far.

After a push from behind, Penn State won its first face-off to open the second quarter. Chase Robertson dodged past a defender and sniped the ball in the bottom of the net. After seven failed shot attempts, the goal offered some relief to the Nittany Lion faithful.

Tucker Wade responded for Princeton, though, cutting the Penn State lead back to one.

Princeton tied the game off a transition play that started with an interception. Chad Palumbo found himself wide open in front of the crease and scored his first goal of the game.

An impressive John Jude Considine goal brought Nittany Lions ahead again at 4-3 but Princeton followed it up with three unanswered goals. Wade and Palubmo scored their seconds of the game, followed by Parker Reynolds. The Tigers took a two-goal lead after trailing early in the second quarter.

The Nittany Lions responded after Robertson found another open shot from distance. Shortly after, Andrew Beard cut to the middle of the field and ripped the ball into the top of the net. Penn State tied the game, and Princeton called a timeout with 11 seconds left in the half. The Tigers attempted a last-second goal, but they were unsuccessful.

The half ended tied 6-6.

Princeton won the first face-off of the second half, but Hawkins quickly saved the subsequent shot. Lehman caught the ball in the slot and dodged a defender for a turnaround goal. On the Nittany Lions’ next drive, Mark Watters cut through the slot and scored right in front of the crease, putting Penn State up by 8-6.

Princeton bounced back and scored two straight goals to equalize. Porter Makliel and Wade both had a goal.

Both teams had a few back-and-forth possessions for the next five minutes, but Palumbo eventually found an open shot and scored to put the Tigers back in the lead.

With under three minutes left in the third quarter, Liam Matthews scored his first goal despite having a defender holding him.

The third quarter ended 9-9 in a nail-biter. Both Ross and Patrick Keenan were out due to injuries and cramping. The depth of the Nittany Lions was tested throughout the game, with an on-field temperature of 112 degrees Fahrenheit.

After another Tiger faceoff win, Hawkins started the fourth quarter with an impressive save. Robertson followed that up with a ball to the bottom corner to put Penn State ahead 10-9.

The Nittany Lions kept possession on the subsequent faceoff, but two dropped passes out of bounds led to a Princeton transition goal to tie the game.

The Tigers took the lead shortly after with John Dunphey first of the day. Andrew McMeekin won the next face-off and scored five seconds after the previous goal to make it 12-10, and Penn State looked defeated.

Despite a man-up chance and a faceoff win, Penn State looked sloppy to end the game, and the Nittany Lions gave up two more. They fell 14-10 to Princeton, ending the 2026 season.

Takeaways

• Injuries played a key role for Penn State. Ross, Keenan, and Hunter Aquino all missed time due to injuries; all three are starters for the Nittany Lions. With Keenan and Ross out in the third quarter, the Tigers were able to get a lead that Penn State’s offense couldn’t catch.
• Preston Hawkins finished the game with 17 saves. With Ross and Keenan being injured, he stepped up for the team. Overall, the defense had more action on the field since Penn State went 19-8 on face-offs. The Tigers had 22 more shot attempts than the Nittany Lions, 27.
• Penn State’s offense struggled to find shot opportunities. The team had only 27 attempts, 18 on goal. While Penn State kept up with the Tigers, many of their goals were unassisted. The Nittany Lions couldn’t move the ball past Princeton’s defense enough for easy shots.

What’s Next?

With a loss in the NCAA Tournament, Penn State’s season has come to an end.